The Rose of Sharon
by Rod Jackson
All verses are quoted from the NASB anything in [square brackets] is added by me for clarity.
In the Song of Songs, the Bride says,
"I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys." Song of Songs 2:1
So the Bride is the rose of Sharon! This word "rose" is literally "crocus".
" `Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.' It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Revelation 19:7 & 8
The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. The fine linen covers the bride, therefore the bride are the saints. So Christians are the rose of Sharon!
"The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus. It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, The majesty of our God." Isaiah 35:1 & 2
Remember "crocus" = "rose". Here the rose blossoms (rejoice) and sees the glory of God. This is a prophecy that Sharon will see God's glory. Sharon is literally a place...
In the New Testament, sometime after Jesus ascends into heaven we read -
"Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, `Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.' Immediately he got up. And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord." Acts 9:32-35
The people of Sharon turned to the Lord. That is they became Christians. So here we see a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 35, that Sharon would see the glory of God!